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#Blog4Japan: Join a Campaign to Help Japan! – Giving U™

I am joining the blogosphere in a cooperative philanthropic effort to channel international donations to local rescue and re-building efforts!

Todd Wassel of the blog Todd’s Wanderings wrote an article about How to Help Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami Survivors, which is dedicated to helping the survivors of the Friday March 11, 2011 devastating events in Japan. Here’s the summarized version of Todd’s article:

The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, over 9,500 people have been confirmed dead and another 16,000 are missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation.

The images of the destruction and suffering have shocked the world and with the World Bank reporting over 300 billion USD in damages there is a need for everyone to help both financially and emotionally.

How You Can Help

A lot of people around the world want to help and have been donating to various international organizations (mainly the American Red Cross). I think this is great and with the money being transferred to the Japanese Red Cross this money will be used well.

However, we also believe there is a need to donate funds directly to local Japanese organizations and NGOs that don’t have access to this type of fund raising. We know that language barriers and lack of knowledge can also prevent people from donating to the right place. As such we have put together a list of Japanese organizations that we know, trust and recommend to channel your donations to. (See below)

● Peace Winds Japan is one of the largest Japanese organizations providing humanitarian relief such as food, clothing, fuel and medical supplies to the affected areas.

● JEN is a well known NGO dedicated to restoring a self-supporting livelihood both economically and mentally to those who have been stricken with hardship due to conflicts and disasters. They are currently supporting emergency relief items such as food, woman’s hygienic items, clothes and other essentials to the survivors of the Japan Tsunami.

● Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is donating food and essential items to the survivors of the tsunami. They also keep a well maintained English blog of their activities in Japan for the tsunami.

● The Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning is taking donations for their response to the tsunami that will focus on the reproductive health needs of women and mothers in affected areas.

● The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA Japan) team is delivering essential medical services through mobile clinics and delivering relief goods to the nursing homes and schools (evacuation shelters) in Aoba and Miyagino Wards.

● OXFAM Japan is working with two partners in Japan on providing support to those on the margins of society who might otherwise have difficulty accessing emergency relief. One group is assisting mothers and babies and the other is providing information to non-Japanese speakers living in Japan.

● Habitat For Humanity Japan is still assessing the situation but will be involved in the reconstruction of housing once the emergency period ends. This is one of the most vital aspects of recovery and the homeless will need a lot of help to put their lives back together.

● The Institute for Cultural Affairs Japan (ICA) is still assessing the situation but is accepting donations.

All of these are worthy organizations to support and you can match your own personal interests to the organization that you think will work the best on what you want to support.

Even if you are unable to donate, please pass this on through social media and word of mouth to your family and friends. Thank you for your support!